Our Parks

As part of our responsibility as stewards of Chelan County waterways, we've built 15 parks covering more than 700 acres. These parks welcome more than 3 million visitors each year. Come see our parks for clear water, clean air and good times.

The parks were developed under recreation plans required by the federal government as part of the PUD's licenses to operate the Rocky Reach, Rock Island, and Lake Chelan hydro projects. Between 1978 and 1995, the PUD spent $67 million developing these 15 recreation facilities.

Ballfield complexes within the parks provide baseball and soccer fields for local teams and also attract regional tournaments to the area.

The Apple Capital Loop Trail is a 10-mile long picturesque loop along the east and west shores of the Columbia River in the Wenatchee and East Wenatchee area. The trail is well used for walking, jogging, skating and riding bicycles.

Reach 1 Trail, completed in 2010, provides a scenic opportunity for local people and visitors to explore the Chelan River Gorge.

The PUD also operates the Rocky Reach Visitor Center, where you can look a salmon in the eye through windows on the fish ladder. The Visitor Center provides guided and self-guided tours through the powerhouse and Museum of the Columbia, one of the most exciting and innovative interpretive museums of the West. The Visitor Center offers educational programs for young and old throughout the visitor season.

Both the Columbia River and Lake Chelan are popular for boating and fishing. The PUD gathers information on river flows and water temperatures, lake levels, and fish counts as part of operating PUD hydro projects and provides this information to the public. For all available data, use the links on this page or go to our Fast Facts page.

FIRE BAN

Until further notice, a fire ban has been issued in Chelan PUD parks. Charcoal or wood fires are not allowed. Camping stoves and portable gas/propane fire pits are allowed.
More information regarding local fire restrictions can be found here:

Chelan PUD is asking for the public’s help – PLEASE, Don’t feed the marmots. These common rodents have wreaked havoc on flower plantings, as well as causing fish habitat damage and riverbank destabilization along the rocky banks of the Columbia and Chelan Rivers.

While these critters may look cute, they can carry diseases such as Sylvatic plague, spread by marmot fleas that can come into contact with domestic pets and humans. Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is another disease spread by marmots from infected ticks. And, marmot droppings can carry cryptosporidiosis that can cause nausea and diarrhea.

A PUD crew will start the annual mowing of aquatic weeds along park shorelines on July 16. Please obey signs and stay away from the equipment. Work will start at Beebe Bridge Park and move downriver over the next few weeks. The crew is working Monday-Thursday and not on Friday and the weekend.

Thank you for your patience with this mechanical approach that controls the pesky weeds without potentially harmful-to-fish chemicals.